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Thursday, July 12, 2012

Family Picnic: Part 1

We had family from California, Connecticut, Colorado, Brooklyn,
Maine, Washington DC, North Carolina, Australia, Florida, and Pennsylvania. With an age range of 7 weeks to ninety three

Life sometimes gets in the way and not everyone can attend every
year but every year my parents make a big effort to remind us all the
importance of family, wherever they live.

It means so much too many people including my grandmother. My Nonnie’s, (mom’s mom) only ninetieth
birthday wish was to have all her children and grandchildren up for the family
picnic! She even sent us all money to
ensure we were there!

There are a few staples each year.
One is beer, brought by Skip, usually in styrofoam coolers! We have quite the collection in my parent’s
basement! BUT this year Skip used two plastic
tubs filled to the brim with ice and beer!
Skip always brings an array of beer, including Saranac! Saranac is local to the Adirondacks and the
brewery is in downtown Utica. I’m not
sure where it is and is not sold but it’s a big deal in our area.

Games! Yes, we are one of those families that play games at picnics. We have had more in the past but two staples
are the face game & water balloon towel toss. It’s where we launch water balloons with
beach towels down a row. The concept is
to catch it and release but we just try to bomb each other! For the face game, every year Greg makes four
poster boards of faces of popular people in the news, sports, cartoon
characters, celebrities and one hit wonders.
It’s pretty fun to see who knows whom.
The team captain gets a hideous trophy that is kind of like the
fruitcake no one wants!

Another is our house jammed packed with people! Traveling is expensive, we always have
cousins stay at our house, limiting the necessity for hotel expenses. In past years, we have had four families stay
with us, which included almost twenty people.
Even for a four-bedroom house, that many people make it tight. This year was only us four and Fran &
Bitsy with 3 out of 4 of their kids.

One year we had my parents in their room with me on an air mattress,
Fran, Bitsy & little Franny in my room, John & Terri in the green room,
five in my brother’s room, one on an air mattress in our downstairs study and three
boys in a tent outside! We have gotten creative
housing all our family by borrowing a friend’s house, sending family members to
other (local) family’s houses, and even used hotels.